A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels — Volume 01 eBook

ruled this immense empire, with great gravity and
wisdom. He is a very valiant man, strong of body
and well exercised in arms, and evinced himself such,
in many actions, before he attained to empire, which
he effected by his superior wisdom and management,
contrary to the will of his brethren. Before his
accession, he shewed himself a more valiant soldier,
and a wiser general than ever the Tartars had before
his time. Yet, since he has swayed the empire,
he has always deputed his sons and other generals
upon military expeditions, and has only since then
gone into the field on the following occasion.

In the year 1257, or 1258, his uncle[2] named Naiam,
being then thirty years of age, who had the command
of so many countries and nations, that he could easily
have mustered 400,000 horse, became puffed up with
youthful vanity, determined to take away the empire
from his lord, and drew into his schemes another great
Tartar prince, named Caydu, who was nephew to Kublai,
and commanded on the borders of great Turkey, and who
engaged to bring an 100,000 men into the field, in
aid of the ambitious project of Naiam. Both of
these confederates began to gather forces; but this
could not be done so secretly as not to come to the
knowledge of the great khan, who immediately set guards
on all the roads into the desert, and assembled all
the forces which lay within ten days journey of Cumbalu[3],
the imperial residence. In twenty days, he had
collected an army, amounting to 360,000 horse and
100,000 foot, a large part of which vast force was
composed of huntsmen and falconers, and persons belonging
to the imperial household. With this army, Kublai
marched with all expedition into the province occupied
by Naiam, where he arrived at the end of twenty-five
days march altogether unexpectedly, and before Naiam
had completed his preparations, or had been joined
by his confederate Caydu. After giving his troops
two days rest, and having encouraged his men in the
confident expectation of victory, by means of his
astrologers and soothsayers, he advanced towards the
encampment of Naiam, and appeared with his whole army
on a hill, over against the camp of the rebels, who
had not even sent out any scouts to procure intelligence.

Kublai-khan was seated on the top of a wooden castle,
carried by four elephants, and filled with archers
and cross-bow men, from which the royal standard was
displayed, on which the pictures of the sun and moon
were pourtrayed. Dividing his army into three
bodies, he kept one as a reserve on the hill beside
himself, and sent the two wings to attack the army
of Naiam, who resolved to stand the issue of a battle.
To every ten thousand horse in the army of Kublai,
five hundred light armed footmen with lances were
assigned, who had been taught to leap up behind the
horsemen on any occasion when flight or retreat became
necessary, and were instructed to alight, and kill
the horses of the enemy during battle. The two
armies joined in a well contested battle, which lasted
from morning till mid-day, when Naiam was made prisoner,
and all his followers submitted themselves to the
clemency of the victor; and having renewed their oaths
of allegiance, were pardoned and dismissed, having
a new governor set over them, in whose fidelity the
great khan could confide[4].